Best Counties to Live In: Montgomery County Ranked No. 14 in U.S.

ROCKVILLE, MD — Congratulations Montgomery County, you've made yet another national list of best places to live. According to the website 24/7 Wall St., the county is the 14th-best county to live in the United States. DC area communities fared well in the rankings: Virginia communities on the list included the city of Falls Church at No. 1; Arlington County at No. 2; Fairfax County at No. 3; Loudon County at No. 4; and the only other Maryland area, Howard County, which ranked No. 5 overall.

For its list, 24/7 Wall St. developed an index based on three social measures — educational attainment, poverty rate, and life expectancy — and ranked counties based on their well-being.

All but a few of the healthiest, best educated, and most financially-secure U.S. counties are located within a major metropolitan area. Eight of those communities are within commuting distance of Washington, D.C. A boon for area residents in Montgomery County: the many high-paying government contractors and their jobs, including Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman.

Here is what the website says about Montgomery County:

14. Montgomery County, Maryland
> 5-yr. population change: +7.5%
> Nov. unemployment rate: 3.1%
> Poverty rate: 6.7%
> Life expectancy at birth: 81.6 years
Many of the wealthiest, best educated, and healthiest counties in the United States are located in and around the Washington D.C metro area, and Montgomery County is one of them. Many workers living in the county are employed in high-paying jobs in and around the nation’s capital. The typical household in Montgomery earns $99,435 a year, a higher median income than in all but a dozen other U.S. counties.

People with higher educational attainment tend to live longer than those with less education. In Montgomery, 57.9% of adults have at least a bachelor’s degree, a larger share than in all but 10 other U.S. counties. With high educational attainment, the county’s 81.6 year life expectancy at birth is nearly three years longer than the national life expectancy.

Other Virginia communities on the list are the City of Alexandria, which is ranked 10th; and the city of Fairfax at No. 8.

The high employment rate explains another attribute in these counties, high health insurance coverage. Nationwide, 87 percent of Americans have health insurance coverage. All but three counties on the 24/7 Wall St. list have a higher health insurance coverage rate. In five of the counties on this list, the coverage rate is 95% or more.

Photos: Patch file photos of downtown Bethesda, Rockville and Silver Spring